Discord's Little Fluttershy
by warrioresscat
Summary: Can Discord and Fluttershy's friendship (and budding romance) survive during a mystical quest in Saddle Arabia?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, just the plot. This has been written purely for entertainment, not profit.**

 _Hello readers! This is the first story that I've written and been brave enough to actually publish, so any comments and reviews would be welcome! I plan to update once a week unless my readers ask for more chapters. I hope you enjoy my work and have fun reading it! If you have an idea of where you'd like to see the story go please feel free to let me know._

 **Chapter One**

"Quiet grace surrounds you, and helps me find my own.

I can't tell you've helped me, and how much I have grown." ~ MandoPony, Kindness

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, the morning light bathing her pink mane in an angelic glow. As the young mare yawned and stretched there was a knock at her door, and before she could respond an exuberant Discord popped in her room with two plates piled high with daisy sandwiches. Her half-awake brain couldn't really comprehend his stream of hyper speech as he talked with four sandwiches shoved in his mouth at once, but Fluttershy was able to gather that he was excited to be in Saddle Arabia.

The Mane Six were on a diplomatic mission for the Equestrian princesses Luna and Celestia, and their first meeting with the local royalty was going to commence within the hour. The reason for their journey had been unclear, with Princess Celestia simply saying that they would find out when they arrived. As Fluttershy slowly gained complete consciousness and munched on a sandwich Discord had begun making random suitcases appear and then rummaging through them. He would take something out, shake his head, mutter to himself and then throw it away where it would disappear in mid-air. She had no idea what he was looking for until he pulled a powder blue tunic-like dress out of one of the trunks. The dress had a woven green belt to accompany it, and embroidered around the short sleeves and collar of the dress were tiny pink butterflies.

Discord knew that, despite her kind and intelligent disposition, Fluttershy often had a hard time speaking up in front of strangers, especially foreign royalty. He wanted her to have a small boost of confidence in knowing that she was wearing something pretty, though not garish. And it was a gift from him, which, if she liked it, would keep a smile on his face all day.

"My dear Fluttershy, I think this will look absolutely stunning on you! You will steal away the breath of all those who lay eyes upon you!"

"Oh, um, th-thank you…it's very pretty…I love it…"

The shy mare trailed off, a sweet little blush spreading across her cheeks. Though he would rather eat his own tail than admit it, Discord loved the way she did that. She was his best friend, and he would never want to do or say anything to jeopardize their relationship, but lately it had been getting harder and harder to control his impulses around her. Just the other day he had brazenly tucked a stray strand of her mane back behind her ear, and the smile she had given him nearly made him nuzzle her. He had pulled himself away just in time though. He knew she was still working on trusting him again after he betrayed her by siding with Tirek a year ago, even though he had had a very good reason.

She looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed slightly above her beautiful cerulean orbs. When he met her gaze he could see a question there, something important if her slightly tense body language had anything to say about it. He cocked his head to the said, waiting patiently. Fluttershy never minced words, and never spoke without reason, so even if she took a few minutes to pick her words it would be worth the wait.

"Yoo hoo, FLUTTERSHY!"

The two of them startled at the intruding noise, Discord jumping straight up and then remaining slightly levitated in the air as he conjured a gigantic pair of earplugs. He began muttering under his breath.

"Three, two, one…"

Just as he finished counting, a pink ball of energy burst through the door, galloping straight for Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie launched herself into the air, her tail twirling like a helicopter blade as she somehow managed to hover an inch away from Fluttershy's face. The pink pony was dressed in what could only be described as, literally, an upside down cupcake. The dress was complete with real frosting, which had even managed to make its way onto the mare's nose, and the hem of the dress had several bites taken out of it.

"GOOD MORNING SLEEPY HEAD! Twilight sent me to wake you, and I love your new dress! Where'd you get it? Huh? Rarity? Manehattan? Huh, huh, HUHHHHHHH!?"

Fluttershy smiled gracefully, even though most ponies would have hoofed the obnoxious pink mare in the face by that point.

"Discord got it for me this morning actually…"

Thinking that he was holding the dress Fluttershy turned to look at him, but he was reclining in the air, sipping the glass out from around some chocolate milk with a smug smile on his face. Fluttershy looked around in bewilderment for a moment, but saw nothing except the simply decorated room with the nightstand and silky pile of cushions on the floor. Then she looked down, and saw that she was wearing the dress. Discord had made it appear on her without her feeling a thing, and just as he predicted she began to blush.

"Well that's all good and great and AWESOME, but we've gotta gogogogo! Come on you two, Twilight and the others are waiting!"

"Two, as in both Fluttershy and I? Oh, hehe, that rhymed!"

"Yeah, both of ya! HURRY UP PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE!"

Pinkie bounced to the ground, then galloped out of the room like a streak of cotton candy colored lightening without waiting for them to actually move. Her tail ballooned out behind her as she left the other two to follow at a more leisurely pace, and Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at the hyperactive antics of her friend.

"Well, that was one way to start the morning. I almost shut her up by conjuring a giant gumball for her to chew on, but she would have liked it too much. Still though, if she had started blowing a bubble in the throne room, and it exploded all over…bahahahaha!"

"Discord!"

Fluttershy tried to reprimand her friend, but the image was too funny. After a minute she gave him a gentle head nudge, and they headed for the throne room. As they were walking Discord looked down at his friend, and he felt his heart constrict as he thought of the thousands of years he had lived without her, and he inwardly cringed as he remembered the look of utter betrayal on her face. The look that he had caused. He had vowed to do everything he could to never see her face contorted in misery again, especially since it was her kindness and unwavering friendship that had saved him from his lonely existence.

He had become a much, much better being since he met her. While his spirit of chaos would never diminish, he was starting to perform more acts of kindness for others, and for the first time in his long life he would wake up smiling. Discord shook himself out of his reverie, and began telling Fluttershy a joke about a bird and a bee as they made their way to the others. Although some of the palace guards gave the chuckling duo sidelong glances, the two were left undisturbed. After all, it's not every day that ponies got to see a draconequus, much less the god of chaos, walking and talking with a friend like a regular pony.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters, just the plot. This story is written purely for entertainment, not profit.**

 **Special thanks to Justlookonthebrightside for the review! :D I hope you guys continue to enjoy my story, and if you want to leave me any comments/critiques/reviews go for it! Chapters may get longer if there continues to be interest in my work.**

 **Chapter Two**

" _He's there in the dark, he's there in my heart._

 _He waits in the wings, he's gonna play a part." ~Lenka, Trouble is a Friend_

A heady, flute-oriented music replaced the usual trumpet fanfare, and the royal guards ushered the group of friends into the throne room. As soon as Fluttershy, Discord and the others were through the arched doors they stood in awe. The Saddle Arabia throne room was much, much more opulent than even the Canterlot throne room. Lush, colorful tapestries that depicted the history of the country were hung up on the stone walls, and the perfectly stitched ponies seemed to dance as a gentle breeze made the tapestries flutter. Bright blues, greens, reds and yellows adorned cushions that were placed in a hexagon around the base of the throne dais. The royal advisors sat there, while the king and queen graced a matching set of plain, wooden thrones. Unlike the golden throne that Princess Celestia opted for, King Trotmek and Queen Hoofsa surveyed their domain from a slightly taller version of the kind of chair that any Saddle Arabian citizen could have.

Out of the six Ponyville ponies, and one draconequus, Rarity was the most enchanted with the décor. The elegant mare was instantly starting to plan a fashion show for her and her friends to put on for the Saddle Arabian royalty, and she was already running through the best ways to capture the majesty of the royal throne room within a new line of dresses. The others were mostly looking around in awe, though the corners of Twilight Sparkle's mouth were turned down disapprovingly at the lack of reading material in the room. She was so used to the numerous piles of scrolls surrounding Princess Celestia that the room looked almost too bleak for her taste.

The earth pony king and queen gave their visitors a few minutes to adjust, then the official introductions and greetings were exchanged. Another few minutes slipped by, and then the queen addressed the citizens of Ponyville.

"Esteemed traveling dignitaries, while we have kept up a brave smile there is actually much unrest within the court. Our son, Prince Neighbaba, has gone missing. We believe that he has been foalnapped by our greatest enemy, the creature that we call Ebersol the Devourer."

A sad murmur spread around the throne room, both from the Ponyvillians and the locals. The young prince was well liked in general, although the disappearance of any foal would be a tragedy. Fluttershy bit down on her bottom lip in concern, and she was already planning on asking the sparse desert wildlife for their help.

"We have consulted our seer, Shimmer Script, on this matter. She has given us a prophecy, and through it we were able to determine that our son's savior would be two of you."

The queen turned her head, her gauzy, belled veil tinkling slightly with the movement as though it were calling out. From the far corner of the room a silver mare trotted forward, her wavy, light blue mane swaying and bouncing with each step. She stopped in front of the seven friends, a serious look on her face as she surveyed each of them. She didn't speak, but in front of her shimmering words began to float up into the air. They were the same cornflower blue as her eyes, and as they formed they rose high enough for all to read.

 _At the rounded table the elements sit,_

 _Full of life and wit._

 _A journey afar for them all comes with a cost,_

 _For there are those who will be lost._

 _Kindness and disharmony blended_

 _Are the only hope to see this story happily ended._

 _Save the prince those two must,_

 _Or all of Saddle Arabia will be naught but dust._

Silenced reigned as everypony finished reading. The unnerved mares exchanged glances until the quietness became too heavy to bear. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence, her indignant question directed at Shimmer Script.

"Okay, I get the whole Flutters-and-Discord-gotta-work-together-because-she's-his-friend-the-most thing, but why only them!? I can fly waaaaaaay better than Fluttershy, no offense 'Shy, and I can do ANYTHING better than _he_ can! Okay, well maybe not magic, but still!"

The two ponies, one as hotheaded as boiling water and one as calm as a clear sky, were locked in a stare-off. After a minute Rainbow Dash dropped her eyes, her wings slumping dejectedly to her sides.

"Fine, whatever. But if he hurts 'Shy again I'll…I'll…I'll sic Angel Bunny on him!"

The king nodded to Fluttershy and Discord, and with an elegant flick of his hoof gestured for them to go through a side door.

"Please, follow me. The rest of you, if you would be so kind, will remain here with the queen in order to plan our next move against Ebersol's army."

"'cuse me sir, but did ya'll just say 'army'? 'cuse that don't sound none too good."

Applejack's freckled face was crisscrossed with worry lines, and behind her Rarity was nodding in agreement. Fluttershy looked to Discord, bewilderment etched on her face. He just shrugged his shoulders, clearly at as much of a loss as she was. Without thinking he reached out, his paw landing gently on her shoulder in a calming motion. He began walking towards the king, and she followed. With one glance and a whispered goodbye her she lost sight of her friends as they reached the next room. However, just before they were out of sight, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of a bouncing Pinkie Pie. The pink mare hollered out a wish for good luck, and then they were gone.

King Trotmek led them to the biggest tapestry they had seen so far, and he pulled the bottom of it so that it rolled up like a projector screen to reveal a musty smelling passage way.

"Go fourth, and at the bottom you will find our castle mage. She will give you helpful items. Good luck, and please, _please_ , bring my son back."

The king struggled to remain composed, but a single tear slid down his cheek. Without thinking Fluttershy threw her legs around him. The hug startled him for a moment, but the king merely gave the mare a shaky smile.

"Don't fret your majesty, Discord and I can do anything when we work together!"  
"Thank you both. I do hope that becomes true, for you two are Neighbaba's last hope."


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters except Shimmer Script, the prince/king/queen (all of whom I completely forgot to list in my last disclaimer) and Moontwist the Goateed, and the plot is mine as well. This has been written purely for entertainment, not profit.**

 **A special thank you to Justlookonthebrightside for your review, and I'm very grateful that there are followers for my story now! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you all next week. :D**

 **Chapter Three**

" _He's got one trick to last a lifetime, but that's all a pony needs." ~ Paul Simon, One Trick Pony_

Rather than actually descending the crumbling, dizzying staircase Discord poofed himself and Fluttershy into the dank chamber that spanned the length of the throne room. The chamber was empty, save for a small wooden door at the far end. A musty, putrid smell, like rotting vegetables, assaulted Fluttershy's sensitive nostrils as the dainty mare began picking her way forward through indiscernible piles of sludge. Discord tried to poof them across the chamber, but the moment he tried a painful jolt of electricity flooded his body as though a thousand hand buzzers had gone off at once all over his body.

"What!? Of all the…good-for-nothing, anti-magical charms…stupid…gonna turn whoever did…into…parasprite…"

As he stood there muttering obscenities to himself Fluttershy had crossed the chamber and knocked gently on the door, which promptly opened itself. She turned to Discord, watching with an amused smile as he delicately stepped across the filthy floor. He had continued muttering, this time about how one would think royalty could find better cleaning staff, and once he reached the door the proceeded together. The tiny room would have been Twilight's idea of paradise, for it was covered with full bookshelves from ceiling to floor. In the middle of the room sat a desk, but it was so covered in scrolls and tomes that neither of them could even tell if there was a chair behind it. The room, lit by tiny, floating little balls of yellow light, was empty.

"H-hello? Is anyone here? King Trotmek sent my friend Discord and I to see you."

Discord look around, his trained eye searching for any sign of a cloaking spell or invisibility charm. After a moment he smirked to himself, and with an arrogant flick of his tail he knocked the towering pile of books on the desk to the floor. Dust and literature rained to the floor, and a chuckling Discord side-stepped the wreckage easily as it toppled down. Fluttershy, however, was too bewildered to move fast enough. She was half buried beneath the mound of books, and before she was fully aware of what happened the copy of _Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny_ that had almost landed on top of her head had changed into the back end of a stallion.

"Ahhhhh! What in the hoof…!?"

"Eeeeeek!"

The thumping of heavy books hitting the floor was instantly replaced by their in-unison exclamations, and Fluttershy inhaled a lungful from the cloud of dust that covered the two ponies in the process. As the dust settled a gasping, coughing Fluttershy found herself being helped up by a handsome young stallion, whose rump was thankfully no longer in her face. His black mane and goatee were a striking contrast to his white coat, giving him an almost zebra-like appearance. His cutie mark was a moon with a twisting orange ribbon around it, and the stallion was wearing a lopsided orange cape with seven silver bells sewn onto the hem. Fluttershy had seen stallions before, of course, but she found herself unable to look away from his unusual appearance.

"Are you alright miss? You seem a little dazed."  
"O-oh, yes. Thank you for asking."

"My pleasure."

The stallion was a unicorn who was smaller than Big Mac, but had a less lanky appearance than Cheese Sandwich. A grin began to form on his face as he noticed the pretty young mare staring openly at him, and to his delight a blush began to spread across her face when she realized that he was taking note of her looking at him. After another unbearably awkward moment of them staring at each other Discord cleared his throat, his goat hoof tapping out an impatient rhythm to get their attention. Fluttershy whipped her head around, her dusty mane almost whipping the stallion in the face.

"Oh, Discord! Are you alright?"

"Ahhhh, my leg!"

He theatrically flopped on the ground, his lizard leg flapping around dramatically. Fluttershy trotted over and examined him for a moment, the corners of her mouth turning down disapprovingly as he made it shatter into pieces like glass. Fluttershy gave him a hard look, her blue eyes watering slightly between the dust and her concern. Just because Discord was magical didn't mean that he couldn't be hurt.

"Discord, please don't worry me like that…"

At the teary look in his friend's eyes Discord instantly put his leg back together and stood up, a roll of tape appearing to put the pieces of his leg back together.

"Oh, look at that! It's all better now, nothing to worry about my dear. Your magical friendship had cured me!"

With a flippant grin he stood up, his leg returned to normal. The unicorn had been watching the mare and the draconequus quietly during their off little exchange, and he couldn't figure out what the king saw in these two. The mare was pretty, but she seemed very meek and physically feeble since she was a pegasus but hadn't been fast enough to dodge a simple pile of books. The draconequus was the embodiment of chaos, so for him to help a kingdom instead of wreaking havoc on it hardly seemed like a good trust exercise for Trotmek to participate in. Did the king and queen really expect him to give some of his precious artifacts to these two?

"Wait a moment…I thought you didn't have your magic when we were in the other room?"

"Oh Flutters, it takes more than a scrawny little anti-magic charm to stop me, Discord the Incredible, for long."

"Scrawny!? Excuse me, that spell took me months to perfect!"

The annoyed stallion interrupted rudely, his nostrils flaring indignantly.

"I'll have you know that I'm Moontwist the Goateed, the only living descent of Clover the Clever!"

"Ohhh, so that's why you have that cheap Starswirl the Bearded costume on! You got the bells wrong by the way."

"Why, I never!"  
"Never what, took a look in the mirror? I can tell!"

"You could use a mirror too! If I had as much magic as you I would at least make all of my parts match!"

"I can't believe that you use spells on creatures without their permission!"

"I can't believe you couldn't break it right away!"

"Humph! At least I don't turn myself into a pile of dusty books to hide from strangers! I bet that's the only thing you can do!"

"I was just practicing my cloaking spell! That trick has served me well many a time. And you, you didn't even ask if your friend was okay when you almost knocked me on top of her!"

"Well, yes, but that's only because you beat me to it…"

"STOP IT! Please, both of you."

The quarreling males turned to Fluttershy, who was glowering at both of them.

"Every moment we waste here is another moment that the Saddle Arabian kingdom is in danger, and I won't let anyone get hurt or kidnapped because of us! Now please, Mr. Goatee, give us what the king requested and we'll be on our way."

With a mere nod he turned and trotted over to one of the bookshelves. With his magic, which cast a green aura around everything it touched, Moontwist opened up a brown, unremarkable book to reveal that it was actually a book-shaped box. Inside was a set of plain, iron horse shoes and a spiked collar made up of what looked like diamonds. The unicorn turned to Fluttershy, pointed ignoring Discord.

"Since he seems capable of magic I don't know why the king thinks you need these, but I suppose it has to do with that foolish Shimmer Script…that daft mare doesn't even talk…but I digress. The horseshoes will grant you unlimited amounts of water, and the collar will allow the wearer to create shade or sun as desired. Both will cancel out any other magic while in effect, so be weary of that. In addition both objects are mind-activated, which means that all you have to do is think what you want it to do and the artifact will respond accordingly."

He levitated the shoes and collar out of the box, and within seconds they had attached to their new owners. The horseshoes attached to Fluttershy's hooves with a magnetic-like click, and the collar split down the middle just long enough to clamp around Discord's neck. The chaos spirit immediately zapped himself out of it, however. With a mutter about how he could already do that he snapped his claws and the collar turned into a pretty cobalt bow, which promptly tied itself into Fluttershy's tail. It complimented her dress quite nicely.

"Good luck on your quest miss. You'll need it. Oh, and here is a saddlebag with supplies, and it also has a map that shows the possible location of the prince."  
"Thank you Mr. Goatee. We'll be going now."

She hefted the bag across her flanks, the compartments bulging with water flasks and what looked like baked biscuits. As the duo turned to leave, back through the putrid chamber, Moontwist used his magic to slide back one of the bookcases. A sweltering blast of desert air flooded the cool, subterranean room, causing the pages of the books to flap wildly in protest. The heat was daunting, but with a resolute nod to herself Fluttershy stepped forward and out into the unforgiving desert sun. Discord followed, and with a loud rumble the door slid shut behind them. It was so well crafted that it looked just like the cliff that the castle nested upon, and for just a moment Fluttershy panicked.

Discord read her face, and without a word pulled the trembling mare into a hug. It didn't last long, their body heat coupled with the desert heat was uncomfortable, but just that simple gesture made her feel better. Their task seemed daunting, but they had both faced worse obstacles before and come out the stronger for it. Fluttershy smiled up at Discord as his paw covered her hoof reassuringly.

"Flutters, I want to apologize for my behavior in there. That guy just rubbed my tail the wrong way…"  
"It's alright, he shouldn't have cast a spell on you without permission. Though you were a little mean to knock him off the table like that."

"Meh, it's the same thing I do to Angel when he's being smug. Uh, I mean…uh…well, I am truly sorry that I didn't ask if you were okay though…"  
Before he could keep talking Fluttershy leaned over and kissed his cheek, causing him to instantly fall silent.

"I know you're always there for me when I need you, and that's all that matters. Let's just try to not argue with the next stranger we meet, or push them off of desks, alright?"

Discord nodded mutely, his heart beating so fast that he was sure she could see it pounding against his flesh. She wasn't looking at him, however. She had taken out the map and was studying it as she tried to keep sweat droplets from falling on it.

"Umm, Fluttershy?"  
"Yes?"

"I can make you shade, but you also have the ribbon."

"Oh, right…thank you."

A look of concentration crossed her face, and in a moment a small umbrella made out of clouds appeared above her head. The mare instantly felt better, and was able to study the map much more efficiently. Discord, his view of the map now blocked by the cloud, took his head off and rolled it next to Fluttershy like a bowling ball so that he could see better.

"Hummmmm…if we head west for about a hundred miles we should be near the cave where they think the prince is being held captive. That's so far away..."  
"Never fear my dear, I can simply teleport us there."  
"Wonderful! That will save a few days of traveling time."

Discord reattached his head, but just as he was about to teleport them a booming laugh echoed around them as a sandstorm sprang up.

"Thissss issssssss my domain. You ssssssshall not usssssse magic in my realm!"

Fluttershy tried to see where the voice was coming from, but the pieces of sand were causing her eyes to water and involuntarily squeeze shut. She threw herself on the ground, using her wings to cover her face and keep the map from blowing away. She felt Discord hunch over her, his tail helping to cover both of their faces and the supplies. After what felt like hours, but was mere minutes, the sandstorm died off. They stood up wearily, and to Fluttershy's dismay the castle was nowhere to be seen. The only remarkable feature was themselves, everything else was scorching sand as far as their eyes could see.

"Discord, is your magic gone?"  
The draconequus tried to conjure a glass of chocolate milk, but nothing happened.

"Yes, it's really gone…I've never been without magic…"  
"That's okay, you still have me."  
He looked down at the shy, but plucky, mare. She was terrified, her trembling gave that away, but for him she was putting on a brave face. He had the best friend in the world.

"Thank you. We can still do this. You're even braver than Rainbow Dash and Applejack, so I know we'll be just fine, somehow…"


End file.
